Tail wagging the dog? America's costly alliance with Israel

Everyone knows the saying: "The drum is around one person's neck, and the stick is in another's hand." This idiom describes how the one who suffers the burden and the one who profits from it are different people. It would not be wrong to describe the US-Israel relationship as America being the "drum" and Israel being the "stick." Using America's military, political, and diplomatic power, Israel commits every atrocity, including "genocide."

Recently, US Vice President JD Vance stated that American taxpayers pay for two‑thirds of Israel's weapons. Americans get nothing out of this perverse relationship. Billions of dollars that could make Americans' lives easier are instead financing Israel's massacres.

The sin of the genocide in Gaza is also on America's neck. The US media reported that President Trump told Netanyahu in a phone call: "Right now everyone hates you, everyone hates Israel because of this." But Trump does not add that the world also hates the US for financing, protecting, and shielding Israel's genocide.

The overwhelming majority in America is fed up with this dynamic of the US being the drum and Israel the stick. As is clear from commentary in the US and Israeli media, Trump also appears tired of this drum‑and‑stick issue. The continuation of the war and the closure of the Strait of Hormuz make daily life harder for ordinary Americans, turning it into a ordeal.

The US not only finances Israel's wars, it also fights wars for Israel. It is no secret that the 2003 invasion of Iraq was carried out for Israel's sake. Bush's Neocons obscured the real reason for that war with fabricated pretexts. The Neocons, who packaged Israel's interests as if they were America's own, deceived Americans and the world.

Whatever it does, the economic, political, and reputational cost of unconditional support for Israel grows heavier for Americans every day. Americans now want the stick taken out of Israel's hand. The political consequences of support for Israel impose themselves as an undeniable reality.

To get out of the Iran quagmire, Trump has to rein in Israel. Scolding is not a deterrent, and words have no customs duty. Trump, the "champion of tariffs," knows this well. Words need to translate into action. Both Trump and JD Vance say that the US is the "senior partner" and Israel the "junior partner," and that things operate accordingly. But Israel draws red lines for the US. Israel's red lines are capable of derailing Trump's Iran agreement.

The Trump administration, however, does not say what it will do against Israel's attempts to sabotage the Iran agreement. Unless Trump says clearly what he will do, Netanyahu, whose personal fate depends on his political survival, will not stop escalating tensions. The drum will still be around America's neck, and Israel will keep swinging the stick.

Many analysts in America, however, prefer to explain the US-Israel relationship not as "senior partner‑junior partner," but with the metaphor: "Is the dog wagging the tail, or the tail wagging the dog?" This saying, which shows the usual roles are reversed, means that control lies with the junior partner. It is also used to describe situations where a smaller, dependent state or regional ally manipulates a global superpower into military or political action. Both the invasion of Iraq and Trump's entry into war with Iran under Netanyahu's pressure were cases of the tail wagging the dog.

In 1996, a meeting was held in Washington between President Bill Clinton and Netanyahu. The subject was Palestine. Clinton, annoyed by Netanyahu's imposing and condescending tone, reportedly vented to his advisers after the meeting: "Who does this guy think he is? Who's the superpower here, dammit?"

Netanyahu, in a video recorded in 2001, described how he derailed the Oslo Accords, which were brokered by the US. When asked, "Aren't you afraid of the US reaction?" Netanyahu replied: "America is something that can be moved very easily, steered in the right direction. No one can stand in your way."

In the video, Netanyahu described Clinton as "excessively pro‑Palestinian" and claimed that 80 percent of the American public was on Israel's side. According to a CBS News poll released on Sunday, however, 78 percent of Americans want the war with Iran to end immediately. In this respect, Trump is luckier than Clinton, but can he show Netanyahu who the boss really is?